Thoughts? Am I being too tough on the electric companies. I know here in Mass. folks have their own complaints about WEMCO, but there just doesn’t seem to be the same outcry here as there is in our neighbor to the south.

I probably started reading the Almanac as soon as I could read. Gram’s copy was always lying around, and I always liked to read graphs and charts (nerd from a young age). I have bought a copy most years since I’ve been a grownup (date of that genesis debatable). Funny that I missed this blurb.
“28th – 31st. Turning stormy over the Atlantic seaboard, with heavy rains. . .; some wet snow could mix in over . . . New England”
The newest edition is on news’ stands now. With the way weather treats us these days, maybe we should all have one laying around.

10:52 – I am in a car headed to Brattleboro, VT. We need coffee and a generator. Waiting for things to happen, not really an option in our house. We are #75 on the list for one at the Greenfield Home Depot. There was power in a few places, but nothing was open.
We’ve been talking about getting one for…five years now. But necessity is the mother of invention, or in our case action. Read the rest of this entry →

A quick rundown of what we are doing to prepare for the 79mph+ winds forecasted for Irene’s arrival here in the Happy Valley –

1. Drinking water, a gallon a day per person, theoretically enough for four days. Stop & Shop has Poland Spring, 2.5 gallon containers on Sale for 2/$5.00. If anything, this storm is going to be annoying, in that we may lose power for a few days. The Northeast is crowded, and the electrical grid is packed, if this hits NYC and Boston, lord knows, WMECO isn’t going to be able to get the help it had in the past to fix the grid (the HillTown ice storm, June 1st tornado), folks might be without power for a few days. In fact most of my tips have to do with dealing without power. Read the rest of this entry →

You know what I love? Electricity. Damn it’s awesome. Runs your lights and your stove, and your fridge, and your hot water heater, and your pellet stove. Well, normally, unless something takes it out – and renders you without light, and heat, and hot water, and cooking prowess. Read the rest of this entry →